I live, I laugh, I love. I blog.

The Honeymooners

April 26, 2012

I just realized I haven’t told you about our honeymoon getaway! Goodness. For shame C, for shame!

Since my hubby only gets two weeks vacation, and since we’re having a baby in August and I really want him at home for a bit after the birth, and since I find traveling exhausting even when I’m not pregnant and since we didn’t want to break the bank on our honeymoon, considering how lucky we were to come out of our wedding not owing anybody anything (other than our eternal thanks)…we decided to go away up North for just a few days.

I’d heard about a resort near Algonquin Park, dedicated solely to couples (aptly named The Couples Resort) and decided to check it out. What I discovered impressed me a lot, and after talking it over with A, that’s where we decided to head for our honeymoon!

And so, the day after our wedding, we packed ourselves up in my parents truck and headed on up North! It was about a 3.5 hour drive to the resort from our house, but it really didn’t seem that long. The weather was lovely, slightly overcast but otherwise an easy drive. As we got closer, the amount of snow on the ground increased and by the time we arrived, there was about 3 ft to be seen!

We checked in and were given directions to our chalet. We splurged a bit on our own cabin for the two nights that we were there, and was it ever worth it! There was a king sized bed, a wood-burning fireplace, a hot tub (outside) and a jacuzzi tub (inside). The decor was a bit rustic, but fitting with the earthiness of being so close to Algonquin Park. Pine lined the walls and the ceiling. It was quite cozy 🙂 We overlooked the lake, and if it had been summer, would have found ourselves right on the beach.

We were pooped once we’d settled ourselves and brought the bags in, so we had a nap until it was time for dinner.

Dinner! Oh my goodness. Both breakfast and dinner were included with the cost of our stay and again, totally worth it! We got ourselves dolled up and headed over to the main building, where the restaurant was located.

We were seated and presented with the menu, which was quite impressive. Once we’d ordered, the procession of food began: an amuse bouche, of which there was only one choice, bread with hummus dip or vinegar and olive oil, then your choice of appetizer, choice of soup or salad, your entree and then dessert.

For my first dinner, I had this incredibly yummy mushroom strudel to start, followed by the caesar salad. My entree was a wild mushroom ravioli in a tomato sauce and for dessert I had the Mars bar angel food cake. All of it was incredible!

The next morning, we had breakfast delivered to our room. I had french toast stuffed with cream cheese and berries. Heavenly! After we’d relaxed a bit, we decided to head out and pick up some snow shoes! I’ve never been snow shoeing in my life, but found myself really enjoying it! We had the option to ski or skate as well, but I was wary of falling. Snow shoeing gave me the best control.

We found a trail, which started conveniently across from our cabin and took ourselves off on an adventure in the woods.

I really wish I’d brought my camera, but I knew we’d be gone at least an hour and not only would it get weighty around my neck, but the temperatures were well below freezing (despite the sun shining and blue skies) and I wasn’t sure how safe that was for my D7000. Didn’t want to risk it! The trees were stunning. I don’t think I mentioned it, but according to our maitre d’, over a foot of snow fell in the couple of days leading up to our visit. The branches were covered with pure, white snow and every now and then we’d hit one with our heads and it would sprinkle down, glistening in the sun. So pretty!

We had a great time out and about, but by the time we made it back we were both starving and decided it was time for lunch. Lunch was one meal we had to pay for, but the prices weren’t too bad. We both had a really tasty chicken panini with spicy havarti and a chipoltle aioli.

Back at the cabin, it was time for another nap. Despite the fact that I wasn’t stressed leading up to our wedding day, there was an awful lot happening and I was due for some good sleep time! We went out for another snow shoe once the sun started setting, this time out onto the frozen lake so we had a good view of the sunset. We barely saw another couple the whole time we were there, other than at dinner. It’s like we were all alone, in that beautiful winter wonderland. Perfect! And so was the sunset.

But as soon as the sun went below the treeline, it was freezing again, so we hurried back inside to get ready for dinner. My second night’s meal went something like this: baked ricotta with tomato salsa as my appetizer, curried lentil soup, a roasted Ontario raised pork chop with cumin spaghetti squash, and then honey cheesecake for dessert (I made sure the honey was pasteurized).

Wow. Talk about full afterwards!

The next morning we took our time getting ready. We had another room service breakfast. This time I had eggs benedict. OMG, so good. Once we gathered our belongings (which all smelled like wood smoke by this point…but that’s part of the experience), we packed up the truck and headed home.

We had such a relaxing time, and it was the perfect amount of time. My guy gets anxious being away too long, and me, well I was looking forward to the rest of my week off at home, getting ourselves organized after the wedding.